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Judy Lafler Converse Testimony to Congress

Testimony
of Judy Lafler Converse
Before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice,
Drug Policy and Human Resources
Government Reform Committee
U.S. House of Representatives

May
18, 1999

My name is Judy Lafler Converse. I live on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. I regret
having a reason to speak here today. I have no other reason to do so except
for the sake of truth, and to spare other families the trauma and loss we
have endured.

I also wish to preface my comments by stating that I hold a master's
degree in public health and am a registered dietitian. I was trained to
accept and encourage immunization and was in no way inclined against
immunizing my son, whose name is Benjamin. He is now two and a half years
old. There is no history of autism or seizure disorder in either my family or
my husband's family. If Ben were here in front of you today, he would seem
completely normal, but his appearance belies the struggle he faces every day.

Ben was born full term and normal in every way. His birth was vaginal and
without interventions or drugs. His Apgar scores were 9 and 10. All his
reflexes were recorded as normal. He was very peaceful. Before discharge, Ben
was immunized with Recombivax HB against hepatitis B virus. Neither I nor my
husband recall receiving informed consent for this vaccine, nor do we recall
seeing Ben get the shot, but it is recorded in his immunization record. No
signed informed consent specific to the hepatitis B vaccine was present in
the copy of Ben's medical record which we recently requested. Ben's fourth
night in this world was his first at home, and we arrived there at about 5
PM. Five hours later, he had his first seizure. Frantic calls to the
maternity staff and pediatrician on call fell on deaf ears. The extent of the
medical advice we received was to put him on our clothes dryer and turn it
on. No one mentioned the vaccine. No one expressed concern that Ben was
turning blue, that he couldn't stop screaming, or that he appeared to be
having tremors and full body spasms.

Ben had three more seizures, losing consciousness, in the next 8 days, as
well as several episodes of arching screaming without losing consciousness.
He was vomiting forcefully every day, had a recurring mild fever and eczema,
was unable to remain asleep, soaked several diapers a day with glossy mucous
and diarrhea, and cried constantly. No one thought any of this was out of the
ordinary. I was told these things were normal for a breast fed infant. He was
only 12 days old. The third time he passed out, he did not resume consciousness.
His breathing was slow and shallow and he was cyanotic. At the emergency
room, Ben was tested for several diagnoses and all were negative or
inconclusive. He was observed overnight. After nearly losing him, we were
sent home the next day with a shrug. No one knew what was wrong, no one
mentioned the vaccine, no one expressed interest or concern for the events of
the previous week, and no one advised us in any way about what appeared to be
seizures and a struggle for Ben's life. Ben's medical record even states, in
a gross understatement, that his first days of life prior to this admission
via the emergency room were "uneventful". The same doctor who wrote
this note privately admonished me for agreeing with the attending
pediatricians to spare Ben the trauma of another spinal tap. Convinced Ben
had meningitis, he said, "it's people like you who cause lifelong mental
retardation." Ben's discharge note states only that he had
"apnea", despite having tested negative for it. We entered the
hospital hoping for answers, but we left with absolutely none.

Ben worsened with the second hepatitis B immunization at 4 weeks. It was
at this moment that I realized he'd been given the shot at birth and that
this may be causing his problems. At two months I asked Ben's pediatrician to
postpone his immunizations. I asked only for a delay so that Ben could
continue recuperating. I knew that accepted pediatric practice dictates that
a sick child should not be immunized. The doctor refused my request. When I
persisted, he told me we could either immunize Ben on schedule, which we had
to do because it was the law, or we could call DSS. With this threat, Ben was
immunized. All of his symptoms worsened. At four months, Ben was immunized
again. At six months, I refused further shots and switched doctors.

Ben was seen by neurologists and developmental specialists, but no one
could explain why he was too floppy to attempt normal developmental tasks,
was unable to sleep day or night, suckled poorly, kept vomiting, why eczema
persisted despite being breast fed, or why he passed out in shock when he
heard Velcro, plastic bags, or aluminum foil. By age 10 months, Ben could not
pull himself to sitting, could not crawl, and had difficulty rolling over. We
sought help from the Early Intervention Program and Ben qualified for
services based on his gross motor delays. For the first time a formal
acknowledgment of his delays was drafted. Reflexes which were normal at birth
had disintegrated and his protective responses were inexplicably delayed. A developmental
therapist taught him to crawl.

Once he walked, he fell on his head constantly, and toppled backwards when
sitting down. He had no skill or strength to go from standing to sitting, but
would fall like a tree, without throwing out his arms to protect himself. He
became extremely fearful of bumps to his head and soon the slightest touch
there, or just the anticipation of being bumped, would produce a seizure. He
would have two or three seizures a week during his infancy and early
toddlerhood. The events of these seizures never vary, and Ben had one as
recently as two months ago. Ben cries hard with one breath, which seems to
empty his lungs. He then is silent, mouth open, not breathing, and struggling
for air. As he suffocates, he turns red, then blue, then purple; his
extremities become blue; his limbs flail about as if he is drowning. Often,
on his left side, Ben will have a flapping tremor of his hand while his arm,
neck and shoulder are rigidly flexed. As his asphyxiation is complete, he is
gray, his eyes lose their luster and open, seeing nothing; his pupils dilate;
his eyes roll back into his head and he then is unconscious. He usually
regains consciousness quickly once his muscles are relaxed and he can breathe
again, but these episodes are traumatic, exhausting, and frightening for Ben.
He is sad and scared in the aftermath. They invariably occur in response to a
stimulus he can not manage, whether it is auditory, anxiety-related, or from
a fall or bump. Even though Ben had seizures like this when he was just a few
days old, we were told they were breath holding spells which he consciously
contrived in response to our over protectiveness. The doctors withdrew and
not only became unsupportive, but blaming: They essentially told us we were
causing Ben's seizures, odd behaviors, and developmental delays by bad
parenting. I was told I "overnursed" him by one neurologist and
asked "why I needed something to be wrong with my son" by a
pediatric developmental specialist. I believe this is a grossly ignorant
assessment of what may be grand-mal seizure episodes. Ben also appeared to
have petit mal seizures in which he would roll back his eyes and grimace, or
suddenly pierce the air above his head with his left hand, elbow locked and
hand quivering. These occurred randomly; he would endure the brief spasm then
go back to whatever he was doing.

What are our lives like now? Ben was diagnosed with sensory integrative
disorder last fall. Last week we learned he is on the autism spectrum as well
with a diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder. This means he can't
reliably sense, organize, or prioritize the information his brain receives
about anything - gravity, balance, sound, light, emotion, anything. He
learned to walk without sensing when he was falling down. He can't tolerate
change, being touched without notice first, the feel of food in his mouth, or
even the presence of his own peers, whose random squeals and movements
terrify him. He can't be placed in group day care and has extreme separation
anxiety. These few examples don't begin to describe how profoundly limited
Ben is physically, developmentally and socially. Though Ben is extremely
bright and verbal, we don't know if Ben will be able to attend school since
he can't function in the bright, noisy environment of a schoolroom.

In many ways we are lucky. It is my belief that my nutrition training
served me well. I took steps immediately upon suspecting vaccine damage that
I believe saved Ben from dying or lapsing into profound autism. Because of
this very early and diligent dietary intervention, plus intensive efforts in
occupational therapy, Ben has had the opportunity to recover some
functioning. With more relentless effort, we fervently hope he will be able
to function like other kids. But my husband and I have lost friends, work,
income, and nearly lost our marriage as we struggled against the medical
providers who were supposed to be helping. Our pediatric providers were so
blind, so biased against the possibility that a vaccine could be damaging
that, I believe, my son would have died if not for our persistent refusal to
follow their advice.

We have had little pediatric guidance or support throughout this journey.
Though Ben's current physician agrees not to immunize him and has supported
all referrals we have requested for treatment and evaluation, she has not
reported his reaction and discouraged me from doing so. She told me we would
be harassed by the state department of health and forced to prove damage from
each vaccine with invasive blood tests. When we asked for a medical waiver
she gave us only a vague philosophical one. She acknowledged to me that the
hepatitis vaccine is an unnecessary affront to an infant's well being and
that she refuses to give the younger two of her three children this vaccine,
because it is of no benefit.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the hepatitis B vaccine damaged
my son and caused his developmental disorders. Not just because he was normal
at birth, full term, with a family history void of such problems, and with no
other events to precipitate such an array of symptoms, but because the
progression of events after the shot is in keeping with criteria for a
hepatitis B vaccine adverse event as listed by the Vaccine Injury
Compensation Program. This is true with one exception: It took longer than
four hours for my son to have his first seizure. All symptoms of anaphylaxis
were present but had a slower onset and persisted for months. In my mind this
fact in no way exonerates the vaccine industry or those that make vaccine
policy. It simply means that thousands of healthy newborns can slip through
the cracks with severe reactions unacknowledged and untreated; thousands will
die, have delays, or become autistic and their pediatric providers will be
just as uninformed as ours were.

One final comment as an individual trained in public health sciences:
After regarding data on hepatitis B in the US, it is plain to me that a
program to vaccinate newborns is of no worth to anyone except those who sell
vaccines. The immunity it imparts wears off before a child is old enough to
have sex with an infected partner or use contaminated needles, which are the
foremost modes of transmission. There is no benefit, and only risk, for
newborns receiving this vaccine.

Breaking News Archives- each day's breaking news from December 1, 2003
(check here for breaking news you might have missed and breaking news that
didn't ever hit the "front page")

DISCLAIMER: All
information, data, and material contained, presented, or provided here is for
general information purposes only and is not to be construed as reflecting the
knowledge or opinions of the publisher, and is not to be construed or intended
as providing medical or legal advice. The decision whether or not to vaccinate
is an important and complex issue and should be made by you, and you alone, in
consultation with your health care provider.

"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."

-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820

“A sacred cow will not protect the herd.”

-- Sandy Gottstein

"What's the point of vaccination if it doesn't protect you from the unvaccinated?"

-- Sandy Gottstein

"Who gets to decide what the greater good is and how many will be sacrificed to it?"